In the Country of Men

the long version

Part memoir, part social commentary, Jan Waldron's In the Country of Men is a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the meaning of gender, male-female relationships, and manhood. Waldron's powerful but warm voice both provokes and seduces as she exposes the folly of gender shtick while carefully unraveling the intricate stitching of her life vis-a-vis the men who have contributed to her definition of manhood: her father, her brother, her lovers, her sons. Written with tenderness, humor, and great empathy for males, In the Country of Men is not a manifesto of absolutes or a male-bashing gripe; it is not aligned with a movement, nor is it about men as compared with women. Waldron is just as claustrophobic at a feminist rally as she is at a rowdy men's sports bar, and teenage boy humor cracks her up.